Nephrology | For Parents

What to Expect

Pediatric Nephrology clinic is held at St. Louis Children's Hospital, 2nd floor, Suite 2C, on several days of the week. Outreach clinics are also held in Barnes West County. You should expect the initial visit to last up to 2 hours, possibly longer if laboratory tests or x-rays need to be performed. Arriving fifteen minutes early for your first appointment will ensure enough time to take care of any outstanding registration and insurance issues. On-time arrival for follow-up appointments will ensure timely and appropriate care for your family. In most cases, both the attending physician in nephrology and one of his or her physician associates will see you. Oftentimes you will meet the associate first. Although the system will entail some waiting time for you, we feel that this wait is compensated by the thoroughness of the evaluation.

In general, much more can be accomplished in less time and with less cost if your doctor provides us with a written summary of your child's problem and the results of any pertinent x-rays or laboratory tests. You can bring these materials with you, but it is best if they are mailed or faxed to us prior to your appointment. If you need to bring your child's x-rays, please bring the actual x-rays (typically provided on a CD), not just typed reports.

The Department of Pediatrics will file insurance claims with your insurance company. Please bring insurance information/cards with you. If you have insurance that requires a referral, please contact our office at (314) 454-6043 with the referral information. For billing questions, contact the Washington University Patient Billing Service line at (314) 935-0500 or (800) 862-9980.

St. Louis Children's Hospital is located on Kingshighway just north of U.S. 40/I-64 next to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, on One Children's Place, St. Louis, Missouri 63110-1077 (location and driving directions). The hospital phone number is (314) 454-6000. Parking is available in the six-story garage immediately across the street from the hospital. The garage is connected to the hospital by a bridge that opens into the clinic area on the second floor.

After your initial outpatient visit, the doctor will call or write to your child's personal physician to report the results of the evaluation. Your child may be scheduled for another visit to discuss the results of the tests with you or to observe the response to treatment.

Please contact us at (314) 454-6043 if you have any questions about your appointment.